(Merge)

www.mergerecords.com

The Music Tapes' Julian Koster, a member of the renowned Elephant 6 collective, doesn't have much interest in traditional rock band instrumentation. His latest album, Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes, replaces guitars, bass, and drums with singing saws, accordions, homemade organs, and one seven-foot tall metronome. These curiosities should come as no surprise to those familiar with Elephant 6, as well as Koster's past work in Neutral Milk Hotel, the revered and defunct band with which The Music Tapes' sound has more than a little in common.

Clouds and Tornadoes sounds like a dusty Smithsonian recording being played on an Edison gramophone. Judging by Koster's use of vintage recording equipment from the 1930s, this seems to be exactly the point. The songs vary from traditional pop-folk, such as "Tornado Longing for Freedom," to surreal vignettes of mournful, quivering musical saws, as on the short "Schedrevka" interlude. A vague storyline seems to bind the entire album together, faded and crumbling like sun-washed photographs of some made-up family history, but it's up to the listener to decide exactly what the plot is.

This album was supposedly nine years in the making, and there's a complexity to it that comes out over repeated listens. Though the unique instrumental lineup is engrossing, at times the music feels flat and monotonous. For all the time and energy spent on details, perhaps Koster didn't focus as much as he should have on writing songs. Still, Clouds and Tornadoes' peculiarities make it an appealing record for those willing to lend their ears to something a little bit unconventional.

Standout Tracks: "Song For Oceans Falling," "Tornado Longing for Freedom" JONAH FLICKER